Visual Studio vs PyCharm

Overview

Visual Studio

Stacks59.6K

Followers37.9K

Votes1.1K

PyCharm

Stacks28.4K

Followers24.2K

Votes451

PyCharm vs Visual Studio: What are the differences?

PyCharm and Visual Studio are two popular IDEs with distinct focuses. PyCharm is a specialized IDE specifically designed for Python development, while Visual Studio is a versatile IDE that supports multiple programming languages. Let's explore the key differences:

Language Support: PyCharm is specifically designed for Python developers and offers comprehensive language support for Python, including code analysis, debugging, and testing tools specific to the language. Visual Studio, while supporting Python, extends its capabilities to various other programming languages such as C#, C++, JavaScript, and more, making it suitable for multi-language development projects.
User Interface and Design: PyCharm provides a clean and intuitive user interface with Python-centric features, enabling seamless navigation and coding. It offers dedicated tools for virtual environments, code completion, and project management tailored to Python development. Visual Studio, known for its feature-rich environment, provides a highly customizable interface with extensive tool windows, project management capabilities, and advanced debugging features that cater to a broader range of development needs.
Built-in Tools and Features: PyCharm includes essential tools like a powerful debugger, testing frameworks, code inspections, and version control integration for Python developers. In contrast, Visual Studio offers a broad range of features for different programming languages, including advanced code editing, debugging, source control integration, web development tools, and support for various frameworks and platforms.
Ecosystem and Community Support: PyCharm has a vibrant Python community and a marketplace with many plugins and extensions to enhance Python development. In comparison, Visual Studio has a larger ecosystem, supporting multiple programming languages and development domains. It offers a wide array of extensions, integration with popular frameworks, and support for various tools, making it suitable for diverse development needs.
Platform Compatibility: PyCharm is a cross-platform IDE available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing flexibility for developers working on different operating systems. Visual Studio, on the other hand, is primarily designed for Windows and offers a comprehensive IDE with a range of powerful features.

In summary, PyCharm excels as a specialized IDE for Python development, offering a Python-centric user interface, extensive language support, and a rich set of Python-specific tools. It provides a focused development experience for Python projects. Visual Studio, with its versatility and multi-language support, serves as a comprehensive IDE catering to diverse programming needs. It offers a customizable interface, a wide range of built-in tools and features, extensive community support, and cross-platform compatibility, making it suitable for developers working on various languages and frameworks beyond Python.

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Advice on Visual Studio, PyCharm

christy

Program Manager

Jul 1, 2020

Needs adviceon

Python

Eclipse

IntelliJ IDEA

UPDATE: Thanks for the great response. I am going to start with VSCode based on the open source and free version that will allow me to grow into other languages, but not cost me a license ..yet.

I have been working with software development for 12 years, but I am just beginning my journey to learn to code. I am starting with Python following the suggestion of some of my coworkers. They are split between Eclipse and IntelliJ IDEA for IDEs that they use and PyCharm is new to me. Which IDE would you suggest for a beginner that will allow expansion to Java, JavaScript, and eventually AngularJS and possibly mobile applications?

2.03M views2.03M

Comments

John

Oct 7, 2021

Decided

If you need an IDE for dotnet on Mac or Linux, Rider is really the only way to go. I recently started a .NET personal project, and initially used VSCode for it, since it had served me so well before for so many other languages. After downloading Rider using my free student license, however, I can never go back. To any other aspiring devs reading this: if you're doing something other than webdev and you can get one for free, please use a full-fledged IDE for whatever you're doing. It might be heavy and it might take getting used to, but the refactorings and quick fixes are going to be invaluable once you start really getting in there.

75k views75k

Comments

Samriddhi

Machine Learning Engineer at Chefling

Sep 26, 2020

Decided

Lightweight and versatile. Huge library of extensions that enable you to integrate a host of services to your development environment. VS Code's biggest strength is its library of extensions which enables it to directly compete with every single major IDE for almost all major programming languages.

1.04M views1.04M

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Visual Studio	PyCharm
Visual Studio is a suite of component-based software development tools and other technologies for building powerful, high-performance applications.	PyCharm’s smart code editor provides first-class support for Python, JavaScript, CoffeeScript, TypeScript, CSS, popular template languages and more. Take advantage of language-aware code completion, error detection, and on-the-fly code fixes!
-	Syntax highlighting;Auto-Indentation and code formatting;Code completion;Line and block commenting;On-the-fly error highlighting;Code snippets;Code folding
Statistics
Stacks 59.6K	Stacks 28.4K
Followers 37.9K	Followers 24.2K
Votes 1.1K	Votes 451
Pros & Cons
Pros 305 Intellisense, ui 244 Complete ide and debugger 165 Plug-ins 104 Integrated 93 Documentation Cons 16 Bulky 14 Made by Microsoft 6 Sometimes you need to restart to finish an update 3 Too much size for disk 3 Only avalible on Windows	Pros 112 Smart auto-completion 93 Intelligent code analysis 77 Powerful refactoring 60 Virtualenv integration 54 Git integration Cons 10 Slow startup 7 Not very flexible 6 Resource hog 3 Periodic slow menu response 1 Pricey for full features
Integrations
No integrations available	Django Python

What are some alternatives to Visual Studio, PyCharm?

PhpStorm

PhpStorm is a PHP IDE which keeps up with latest PHP & web languages trends, integrates a variety of modern tools, and brings even more extensibility with support for major PHP frameworks.

IntelliJ IDEA

Out of the box, IntelliJ IDEA provides a comprehensive feature set including tools and integrations with the most important modern technologies and frameworks for enterprise and web development with Java, Scala, Groovy and other languages.

WebStorm

WebStorm is a lightweight and intelligent IDE for front-end development and server-side JavaScript.

NetBeans IDE

NetBeans IDE is FREE, open source, and has a worldwide community of users and developers.

Eclipse

Standard Eclipse package suited for Java and plug-in development plus adding new plugins; already includes Git, Marketplace Client, source code and developer documentation. Click here to file a bug against Eclipse Platform.

Android Studio

Android Studio is a new Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA. It provides new features and improvements over Eclipse ADT and will be the official Android IDE once it's ready.

RubyMine

JetBrains RubyMine IDE provides a comprehensive Ruby code editor aware of dynamic language specifics and delivers smart coding assistance, intelligent code refactoring and code analysis capabilities.

CLion

Knowing your code through and through, CLion can take care of the routine while you focus on the important things. Boost your productivity with the keyboard-centric approach (Vim-emulation plugin is also available in plugin repository), full coding assistance, smart and relevant code completion, fast project navigation, intelligent intention actions, and reliable refactorings.

Xcode

The Xcode IDE is at the center of the Apple development experience. Tightly integrated with the Cocoa and Cocoa Touch frameworks, Xcode is an incredibly productive environment for building amazing apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.